Santa Claus has Come to Town
by Butterfly of the Dusk
Summary: Cecile swiveled around on her heel, hands on her hips, to begin a near-stern lecture. "Kujo. I know you're not very popular among the students. And it all has to do with that silly rumor. So I have an idea." She clasped her hands together, and grinned, eyes shining with mirth. "You're going to be Santa for the Christmas party!"


**Disclaimer - I don't own Gosick. **

**This might become tradition for me. Including the 'coming up with the idea and writing it all out on the twenty-fourth' part. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this Christmas oneshot.**

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Kujo was bored. Incredibly bored. Evidently, watching Victorique reading a book wasn't interesting, considering he was 'too slow' for her tastes.

So, he tried everything in his power to do something else. But she shook her head when he offered to take her outside and buy her some candy. She glared at him when he offered to go out alone and inevitably find a mystery with his terrible luck. He even went so far as to propose dancing for her, as it would be...slightly more amusing. Probably more for her than him, though. But she kicked him in response, muttering something about weird dancing.

So back to the problem. Kujo was bored. And now Victorique was completely ignoring him. Great.

A whirring occurred from the far end of the botanical garden, growing louder and louder by the second. Kujo swiveled around. Was this what he had been hoping for? Or did the inevitable occur? Did he finally find a mystery without even stepping a foot outside the tower?

...Apparently not.

"KUJO-KUN," a feminine voice shrilled. He knew that voice. He had already heard it many times before. It belonged to no other than Cecile-sensei, after all.

The whirring stopped, and the woman's face was revealed inch by inch. "Kujo!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "I have a surprise waiting for you! Come with me!"

Kujo didn't budge. When his eccentric teacher - actually, when any adult - asked him for something, nothing good came out of it..._ever. _

The woman huffed. Stomping out the elevator, she trudged over to Kujo's side, pulled the boy up, and then dragged him alongside her.

"Bye Victorique!" Cecile waved at the girl as the elevator clicked and began its descent. Victorique stared at them, but didn't respond. Kujo waved at her, but she turned away.

Great.

She was still mad at him.

...

"Why-?"

Cecile swiveled around on her heel, hands on her hips, to begin a near-stern lecture. "Kujo. I know you're not very popular among the students. And it all has to do with that silly rumor. So I have an idea." She clasped her hands together, and grinned, eyes shining with mirth. "You're going to be Santa for the Christmas party!"

"..."

"..."

"...What?"

...

"Kujo! Are you done yet?" His teacher asked.

The boy groaned. He really wished there was a window to escape from. Well, actually there was a window to escape from. Too bad they were on the second floor. So...he wished there was a window to _safely _escape from. In which case there wasn't. Darn.

"I'm almost done." Kujo groaned, wincing at the large, red outfit, the silly hat, and his itchy beard. If he didn't come out of the party with a better reputation, then he was certainly coming out of it as a fool. A fool in a silly hat and an itchy beard. Why did he always get himself into an embarrassing or deadly situation? He quickly scanned the room again. No possible escape. Giving up, Kujo resigned to open the door.

"Finally!" Cecile exclaimed, hands behind her back. "I thought you had escaped from the window!"

Kujo's eyebrows furrowed. They were on the second floor...how could he possibly-? He turned around and marched towards the window. Pushing the window open, he realized something he wished he had noticed five minutes earlier. There was a tree right outside the window. A tree that he could have climbed down from. _He could have escaped. _

"Kujo!" Cecile said, snapping Kujo out of his thoughts. "Just one last finishing touch!" She reached her hands out, revealing the large amount of cotton nestled in her palms. "Santa isn't Santa without his big belly!"

...

Wreaths were strewn about the room, some tacked onto the wall and others on streamers gracefully hanged from wall to wall. A dining table placed to the far right held a wide array of cool refreshments and steaming entrees. And the center piece - a large pine tree, decorated with shimmering ornaments and lit candles - was held erect in the absolute center of the room. The scent of roasted turkey, along with the air of festivity, wafted throughout the room.

Thus, everything seemed bright and cheerful. Well, except for Kujo's little corner in the room. He may have been dressed as Santa, but he definitely wasn't jolly.

"Kujo!" His teacher lectured, "Put a smile on that face! You're never going to make any new friends this way! The other kids will be arriving in a few minutes, too!" The boy forced on a smile. "No!" Cecile pouted, and began to pinch his cheeks, trying to shape his smile into perfection...or maybe she was punishing him; he couldn't tell due to the blistering pain in his cheeks. "Like this...wait...it's lopsided...maybe right here...aha! Yes! Right there!" The woman stepped back and nodded, proud at her handiwork. "Just keep that face up and you'll be making friends in no time!" Well that would be easy - his cheeks were already numb now, thanks to her.

A trumpet blared, and the ivory doors swung open. Dozens of students filed into the room, the girls' dresses swishing and the boys' footwear clacking against the marble floor.

...Thank goodness no one had noticed him yet.

But just then, Cecile clapped her hands together, causing the commotion to cease and everyone to focus their attention on her. Especially Kujo. There was only one thing that his teacher would need to announce, and it was-

"I've decided to make this Christmas party a little different that the previous years!" Cecile announced, a broad grin etched onto her face. "So, welcome our special guest, who's traveled all the way from the North Pole! Santa Claus has come to town!" And with that, she made a dramatically flourished gesture, pointed to Kujo, and smiled. "He has said that he would be available for any and all questions! Have a Merry Christmas!"

As soon as Cecile left to get a cool drink, murmurs filled the room.

"...grim reaper..."

"...what is she thinking...?"

"...misfortune...brings death with him..."

Beads of sweat began to line Kujo's brow. He knew this wasn't a good idea. The room, no matter how spacious it was, seemed to be suffocate him, and he looked around for an excuse to leave.

The crowd grew silent once again. Confused, Kujo turned back around. A short, petite figure strode through the crowd, which began to part just for...

_Victorique. _

She stuck out like a sore thumb, what with her lavender attire amid the sea of red and green. What was she doing here? She was walking towards him. And her face, normally apathetic and disinterested, seemed..._amused. _Oh no.

When she was nearly an inch away from him, Victorique smirked. "The Dark Reaper, dressed in a cloak of his victim's blood." She glanced at his 'belly.' "What made Cecile think that this was a good idea?"

"Victorique..." he muttered, exasperated. It was good that she wasn't ignoring him any more, but now she was blatantly making fun of him. Did she think he actually wanted to do this? "What are you doing here?"

She leaned in, causing Kujo to flinch. Did he really make her that mad?

"..."

His eyes widened, and he turned towards her. What had she just said? Was he hearing right?

Victorique gave a soft, slow smile. "It's become lonely in that tower without my servant."

More murmuring; more whispers.

"...the golden fairy...and the Dark Reaper..."

"...no, she's...the wolf..."

"...what are they saying-"

Silence. A swift, abrupt silence. Kujo focused his attention around Victorique, and into the crowd. What was happening?

"Everyone!" Cecile announced, winking at Kujo as she did so. "It's time to place the star on the Christmas tree! Who would like to volunteer?" A chorus of students quickly responded, each, in his or her own way, begging, pleading, or simply asking to be specially chosen for the event.

Knowing that he and Victorique were no longer the center of attention, Kujo rose from his chair and offered the girl his hand. "Would you like to go?"

Victorique took his hand. "Yes."

...

_"I'd like to spend this day and every day afterwards with Kujo."_

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**I hoped you enjoyed this oneshot more than last year's! And happy birthday to Victorique!**_  
_

**Also, for anyone wondering about my other story, Inevitable, I'm currently revising it. So, the story's pretty different. But if you'd like to check it out, chapters 1-4 are already available. **

**Thanks for reading! **


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